Eryri Forest Resource Plan - Approved 19 November 2021

Location and setting

Eryri Forest Resource Plan (FRP) covers an area of 1039ha, and predominantly sits within the Snowdonia National Park and within Gwynedd Local Authority.

Eryri FRP area is made up of 5 smaller forest blocks, Beddgelert main block, Cwellyn and Hafod y Wern, these three blocks sit north of the village of Beddgelert along the A4085 and make up the majority of FRP area – 875ha.

Coederyr sits in the Gwynant valley between Llyn Dinas and Llyn Gwynant this area makes up 81.3ha of the FRP.

Finally, Coed Dolfriog and Caeddafydd woods sit within the Nanmor valley to the south east of Beddgelert and make up 82.7ha on either side of the valley.

As stated above, majority of the forest blocks sit within Snowdonia National Park with the exception of Hafod-Y-Wern which sits just out-side. Their situation within the Park makes them central to Snowdon itself and within areas of high tourism and conservation sites.

Opportunities and priorities

Timber Production

Continue to maintain a sustainable supply of timber production within Beddgelert, Cwellyn and Hafod y Wern, through design of felling and choice of restock species.
Diversify the forest species composition to increase resilience to pests and diseases whilst building a robust forest for future generations. Careful consideration of Larch replacement for areas cleared to retain diversity within the productive forest.
Phased removal of mature larch to avoid large areas of clearfelling, and to reduce likelihood of adjacency issues and large amounts of sediment run off.
Establish thinning operations to ensure that potential CCF crops are given the opportunity to develop successfully and that areas of PAWS are thinned to be slowly bought back to native woodland species.
Increase structural diversity through LISS management where appropriate and consider the scale, size and timing of any clearfell, avoiding the felling of adjacent coupes. Older conifer crops should be retained where possible to maintain forest structure and productive potential.

Ancient Woodland Management

Improve habitat connectivity by maintaining and enhancing areas of ancient semi-natural woodland and restoring plantations on ancient woodland sites, in line with strategic prioritisation policy.
Phased removal of non-native species from Ancient woodland sites, and from areas falling under the SAC management of the Meirionydd Sessile Oak Woodland. This will minimise the effects on Bat flight paths through the woodland areas.
Special emphasis on the removal of INNS from Ancient woodland sites, and areas adjacent to SAC’s.
Develop a thinning regime that ensures areas that have been identified as Ancient woodland can be restored with minimal demand on clearfelling. This is particularly important in Coed Eryr due to its proximity to Snowdon and the landscape impact on the nearby areas.
Continue to meet deadwood targets with emphasis to the areas that fall under Ancient woodland status.

Water Course Management

Plan the size and timing of felling coupes and restocking to avoid impacts on current and future drinking water supplies. As most of the site sits within an Acid Sensitive catchment and above water courses that have an impact pathway into a SAC, coupe planning to avoid acid and sediment pulses is of high importance.
Continued development of Riparian woodland around waterways, to improve water quality and improve habitat connectivity.
Where opportunities have been identified to reduce flood risk to local communities, they should be undertaken with consultation through the flood risk management team.

Habitat Management

Increase planting of native successional woodland within the currently open habitats to allow a more phased habitat between the main Sitka coupes and the open habitat above.
Use opportunities to connect broadleaved woodland to hedgerow habitats and improve resilience.
Explore opportunities for future peat restoration.
Utilise the current road and riparian zone network for the benefit of biodiversity by creating linkages with open habitat.
Remove Sitka regeneration from open and successional areas to mitigate the spread of Sitka regen into open habitats not under the management of Natural Resources Wales.

Landscape

Develop a more phased landscape design through the development of successional woodland between conifer coupes and open habitat.

Recreation

Maintain and enhance recreational use across all areas of the block (in line with the Recreation & Access Management Plan).
Where forestry operations might impact upon recreational activity diversions should be placed to maintain trails such as the slate trail and major bridleways.

Other

Improve forest roads and infrastructure to help improve management in Eryr, Cae Dafydd and Dolfriog.
Research Plots special data within Cwm Ddu of Beddgelert should be retained as a future opportunity for further research.
Identify heritage and cultural features to avoid damage, areas identified as hotspots will need further consultation during the coupe planning stage.